If You are Transporting From the OME

After you have been notified by a family that you will be the designated funeral home, please contact our main number (801) 816-3850 (Option 2) and inform us. At that time we can give you the status of when the examination should be complete.

If we have your name before the family has made arrangements with you, we will advise you when the body is ready to be released.

Do not assume that a cause of death being displayed in EDEN indicates that the body is ready for release. There may be additional delays including additional testing or tissue donation. When making a removal, you will need to provide the name of the person authorizing your funeral home to make the removal and also the relationship of that authorizing individual to the deceased.

Please bring with you any personal biohazard protective gear (gloves, aprons) that you may need to make the removal. Be mindful that you are responsible for the removal of the body and that the assistance of our staff with lifting or transport is not a part of their job. This is done as a courtesy. We will make an effort to notify you if the habitus of the deceased may necessitate you bringing additional staff.

Hours of Operation

The Office of the Medical Examiner (OME) is a 24/7, 365 days a year operation. Staffing is provided to allow admission and release of bodies at all hours of every day. Examinations are not performed on Sundays, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Final disposition of the decedent may not be made until authorized by the attending health care professional or medical examiner. Certification of the cause of death must be obtained from the attending physician and in some cases, the Office of the Medical Examiner before the death certificate can be registered. Once you have obtained medical certification the death certificate will be filed, registered and necessary permits will be issued.

Utah Code 26-2-17 (1) dictates “A dead body or dead fetus may not be interred or otherwise disposed of or removed from the registration district in which death or fetal death occurred or the remains are found until a certificate of death is registered.”

If you are planning cremation or removal of remains from the State of Utah, a cremation permit/transit permit and a review of the Death Certificate by the Office of the Medical Examiner is required as per Utah Code 26-4-29. This review is done daily by investigators with the Office of the Medical Examiner. If there are no issues noted during the review, the death certificate will be cleared for cremation or removal. If there are any issues noted, a hold will be placed on the death certificate and an investigation will be started by the Office of the Medical Examiner.

If a body is to be transported out of the country, you will be asked to provide a letter that the body is free of contagion and can be transported across borders. If you need this letter, notify us as soon as possible so that we can generate this letter before the body is released from this office. If there are any additional stipulations that need to be included in the letter please notify us.

The letters will simply state we examined the body of (name) on (date) at the Office of the Medical Examiner in Salt Lake City and we found no evidence of a contagious process that would prevent travel across international borders.

Unless retained by our office for evidence purposes, all personal effects which were received with the body will be released with the body.It is up to you, in consultation with the family, if soiled items are returned or destroyed. Valuables are locked in a separate section of the office accessible only during regular business hours.

If you find that information has been entered incorrectly or find omissions on the death certificate, please call our main number 801-816-3850. If it is not necessary to speak directly with the physician that signed the death certificate, please leave a detailed message with our office staff and they will bring it to the attention of the doctor. Some corrections can be made by any of the OME doctors but this will be guided by the availability of the certifying doctor and the type of correction needed.